Safe harbor
by Benedict-Addict Holmes
Summary: When Edward left Bella, he was gone never to come back. She jumps off the cliff, is nearly killed but he still doesn't come back. So who will help her heal? And how long will it be before she is willing enough to go back to normal? Bella x Jacob. One shot. Written for Nimrah Shaikh. Please read and review!


**Author's note : Well, here's my first twilight fic. Written because one of my best friends Nimrah asked me to. It's a simple one shot, slightly AU but mostly in sync with the original. I hope you like it. Please read and review!**  
**Disclaimer : I owe nothing. Everything belongs to Stephnie Meyer.**

I stood at the very edge of the cliff, with my eyes closed. The chilly wind blew through my hair, making me shiver. I hadn't looked at the sight below for the fear of weakening my resolve.

'Bella, don't do this..' said his voice and I smiled to myself. There he was, standing ghostly pale right next to me. He was so beautiful, it made my heart ache just looking at him. A reminder that the beautiful god-like creature standing next to me could never be mine.

'I have to...' I sighed before taking a tiny step forward.

Trying not to think of what would happen once I hit the surface of the sea, I jumped.

The fall was brilliant. Blood was pounding in my ears, the wind was trying it's best to win the fight against gravity to keep me suspended mid air.

But gravity won and I sank into the cold water with a huge splash. My body was like a brittle leaf trying to fight against the strong current. Crap. I hadn't thought of this before jumping right in.

I tried and tried to fight it but the waves kept hurling me towards the rocks. I hadn't even reached the surface yet. My tired limbs were struggling to move and I could almost feel my lungs fill with the chilled saline water. Was this what dying felt like? But death was supposed to be peaceful and calm, like going to sleep. Why did I have to go through this terrible ordeal before meeting my end?

It was then that I saw him and I stopped struggling. He was right next to me looking calm and composed and despite everything, I felt myself slipping away. Ah, this was what I had wanted. A painless, peaceful death. His face was as flawless as ever. I reached out a weary hand to touch him.

And then he disappeared in a flash of red. I felt someone slam into me. Someone whose body was granite hard and steel cold. For one insane moment I thought it was him but then her face loomed in front of me.

The flash of red.

Her blood red hair.

It was the last thing I remembered before the blackness set in.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The smell of salt. Dampness. Pressure. Warmth. A husky voice. Pleading, begging, choking...

My eyes flew open and the first thing they saw was Jacob's face, tears running down his cheeks. As soon as he saw that I was awake, he pulled me into a fierce hug. The coldness of the water, the splashing waves, the exhilirating fall, all was forgotten as I lay nestled in his arms. And then I remembered her.

'Jake! Victoria! She's here! Let's go! We can't let her-' I spluttered but he cut me off with his large hand covering my mouth. He shook his head before releasing me from his embrace.

'She's gone, Bella. The pack took care of her. Don't worry' he gave me a weak smile which I found was being reflected on my own face. Victoria gone...Victoria gone! I couldn't believe it. But looking at Jacob's face, it was apparent that something was seriously wrong. Something he wasn't telling me.

I took his large, warm hand in mine. 'What's wrong Jake?' I asked.  
It was then that he broke.

'Harry Clearwater. He had a heart attack. He's no more' he choked out. He was shaking uncontrollably now. I wrapped my arms around him so that his warmth engulfed me once again. Rubbing soothing circles over his bare back, I tried to calm him down like a true friend would.

'Let's get you home. I don't want Charlie to wonder where you've been and what you've been doing. Especially the latter' he said, glaring at me. I nodded meekly before getting on to his bike to ride pilllion while he drove us to my home.

He was fast. We reached home just in fifteen minutes whereas it took my truck an hour at the least. Charlie was sitting on the porch, looking distraught. Harry had been his best friend. I rested my hand on his shoulder to comfort him a bit.

'I'm so sorry, Dad' I whispered before hugging him tightly. He stiffened at my touch, having been alienated from such affection after my mom had left him.

'I guess it'll take time to get used to the fact that he's really not going to be here anymore' he mumbled before setting off in the direction of his car.

'Jacob, will you just stay with her for a while? I need to get some paperwork done'.

Jacob nodded and Charlie drove away, leaving us alone in the house. Jake closed the door before streching out on the couch. I sunk into the sofa. I thought of Harry's family. Poor Sue. And Leah. And Seth. I hoped they would be alright soon.

'So what were you thinking today, jumping off the colossal cliff on your own?' Jacob asked in a worried tone. I knew what worried him. He had suspected a totally different reason as to why I had jumped.

'It's not what you think, Jake' I sighed, 'I wasn't trying to kill myself. You know Sam and the others were doing the same the other day? Well, you said you would teach me one day and I wanted to try it out. I-'

'Really didn't think of what you were doing before you'd already done it' he growled at me.I wasn't in the least surprised at his anger. I deserved it. I had been selfish and extremely inconsiderate towards the ones I loved in my impulsive haste.

The next thing I knew, he was right next to me, his black eyes boring into mine. The heat from his body was too intense, threatening to overwhelm me any minute.

'Why didn't you think of Charlie? Your mother? And me? What would I do without you?' he spoke in that husky voice of his. This sounded so intimate that I felt myself shying away from his gaze, blushing a furious red.

He raised his warm hand ad placed it against my cheek, stroking the cheek bones that had protruded out due to eight months of near starvation.

And then he leant in slowly. My mind panicked. I wasn't ready for this yet. Hark, I had just tried to kill myself because the love of my life had left me!

I cleared my throat awkwardly, which brought him back to his senses because he jumped back suddenly and moving as far away from me as the cramped living room allowed.

Charlie returned an hour later and Jacob left immediately, without even saying goodbye.

I fixed up a light dinner for us and gulped it down without saying much.

A long hot shower cleansed me of the salty smell that had been clinging to me. My knotted muscles relaxed and I felt a lot better than I had felt in the past many months.

My body had calmed down but my mind was reeling. I had known Jacob had been infatuated with me ever since we had met. But I had never thought of him that way back then because my world consisted of Edward and Edward alone.

What about now though? Edward wasn't coming back. I was almost sure of that. It had been eight months that I had allowed myself to suffer. Suffer because of someone who had cast away my love without a thought. Was it fair to deny myself real happiness when it was right in front of me? Was it fair to let my battered heart wither away pining for Edward when a bright future with Jacob awaited me that would allow me to heal back to my original self?

I thought of Jacob. He was my best friend in the world. My safe harbor. Falling for him would be one of the easiest things to so many ways, I contemplated, I did love him. His presence made me complete, in a way I had not realized before this incident. Was that so wrong?

Was it unfair to Edward, me loving someone else? A few days ago, this idea would've struck me as absurd because my mind firmly believed that Edward was the only one who had a place in my heart. But was there a tiny possibility that I had been wrong?

Even Edward, even though he didn't care anymore, would've wanted me to move on.

Thinking of Jacob made my heart speed up. It also filled me with immeasurable guilt. I had kept him waiting for too long. Any longer and he would be gone.

And I thought of Charlie. He was no younger than Harry. And He had enough on his plate already without a daughter who spent her days waiting for someone who was never going to come back and spent the nights screaming and crying.

For once, the decision was in my hands. I knew what I had to do.

xxxxxxxxx

The morning dawned, bright and clear. It was sunny for once. I grabbed the keys to my truck and drove in the direction of the reservation. I stepped out of the truck and asked for Jake.

He walked towards me, wondering what on earth I was doing at his place so early in the morning. Looking at him made my heart beat a hundred times faster. But I had to do this, I kept telling myself. For my sake as well as Jacob's. And Charlie's . And all those who loved me.  
He stood right in front of me, his eyes looking at me in confusion.

I mustered enough courage and took a step ahead which put me a lot closer to him. And then I looked into his warm brown eyes and everything was okay . I wasn't nervous anymore.

So, I placed my hands on his shoulders, before pulling him down to my height and crushing his lips beneath mine. I heard him gasp in surprise and pleasure before he kissed me back, wrapping his arms around my slender waist and pulling me closer and closer. My hands entangled in the shorter hairs at the nape of his neck.

After what seemed like eternity, we pulled away. His eyes were still closed and his face was lit up in the biggest smile I had ever seen.

And what was better was that the same huge million watt smile was playing across on my face as well.

**A/N : Well, that's it. How was it? Please let me know!**  
**Love**  
**Aditi xoxoxo**


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